delvingvsDenningWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: delving is a verb, Denning is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“delving” is a verb and “Denning” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,881
“delving” frequency rank
#42,086
“Denning” frequency rank
79967
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature delving Denning
Definition present participle and gerund of delve A surname.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set delving and Denning apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
delving
7 ch
Denning

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: delving is averb and Denninganame. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79967, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

delving is recorded at frequency rank #37,881, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈdɛlvɪŋ/. Denning is at rank #42,086, tagged as aname.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 79967, this pair ranks #20,882 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of delving vs Denning

Shared letters: degin. Private to "delving": lv. Private to "Denning": -.

"delving" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Denning" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • delvingddelving · delivng · dellving · delvign · delvingg · delvinng · delvnig · delvving
  • Denningddenning · dening · deninng · dennign · denningg · denninng · dennnig · dnening

Frequency comparison

delving#37,881
Denning#42,086

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "delving" and "Denning" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "delving" is a verb and "Denning" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "delving" or "Denning"?
"delving" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,881 in our English list, against #42,086 for "Denning". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering delving vs Denning

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “delving”; for a name, it's “Denning”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “delving” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list